How not to get scammed this holiday season

Don’t get scammed this holiday season. Here’s what you need to look out for

Updated: 8:40 PM CST Nov 23, 2022

Over the next week, more people will be looking for those Black Friday and Cyber Monday bargains, and unfortunately, scammers know this and they’re looking to take advantage.Sister station KCRA spoke with Zulfikar Ramzan, Chief Scientist at Aura, a cybersecurity company, about some of the most common scams to beware of this holiday season and tips on how people can protect themselves. Black Friday and Cyber Monday scamsScammers frequently prey on Black Friday and Cyber Monday bargain hunters by advertising “One-Day Only” promotions from recognized brands. According to Zulfikar Ramzan, scammers hope that consumers pay for an item on a fake site they’ve set up. If a shopper does this, they give away their personal information.Ramzan: Those Black Friday deals or Cyber Monday deals are often pretty remarkable. But keep in mind that scammers recognize that as well. If there’s any kind of “must-have item,” you can typically see scammers starting to advertise it — saying you know, we’ll get you this one item that you really want at a great discounted price. More often than not, if the offer seems too good to be true, unfortunately, it is, especially in the online era. Ramzan: During the holiday season, we often find there are certain items that are popular. What scammers have sought to do is advertise that they have those items available. So they’ll put up ads in different places, they’ll send you an email, they may send you a text message, they may even reach out to you by phone. They’re getting much more brazen. Typically what happens in these cases is they offer an item, they ask you to pay for the item, but unfortunately, they don’t deliver the item to you. And if anything, you’ve now given your information away to the scammers in some cases, credit card information and other cases, potential information that could be much more detrimental to give away. Delivery scamsRamzan: Typically what will happen is you’ll get a text message saying that there has been a problem with your delivery, please click here to go fix it. And of course, in this day and age in the holiday season, we’re constantly ordering things online — we have so many deliveries coming. I see a text like that and I’m going to believe that it’s for me. I click on that link. And unfortunately, that link takes me to a scammer site. If I’m not careful, I may end up giving them all my information. Forget about the delivery. I’ve now lost my identity and god knows what else at this point. Charity-related fraudAccording to Aura, charity-related fraud increases during the holidays as individuals seek to donate money to those less fortunate. Criminals use phone calls, email campaigns, and fake websites to solicit on behalf of fraudulent charities. Ramzan: It is the season of giving. We see a lot of fake charities pop up as well. They’ll offer to take a donation in your name to whatever cause and unfortunately, many of these charities turn out to be fake and just set up for the purpose of the holidays because people are in a giving mood. Scammers unfortunately do like to take advantage of that moment of weakness, if you will, on the part of individuals who want to give and who may not be paying full attention to what’s going on around them. How to protect yourself this holiday seasonDon’t click on any links. Instead, type in the reputable site directly into your browser.Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if the business is legitimate before you buy anything online.If you get a call from someone saying they’re with a certain business, or even saying they’re with your bank, hang up the phone immediately and call the entity back directly.Before you give to a charity, you check its legitimacy on Charitywatch.org.Watch the video above for the full story.